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(No Model.) v

M. G. GILLETTE.

DRAWERl PULL.

No. 354,547. Patented D60. 21, 1886.

N. Pez-rens mwmhngnpm, hmmm uA u UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE. l

MOTT GEORGE GILLETTE, OF NEWT YORK, N. Y.

DRAWER-PU LL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 354,547, dated December 21, 1886.

Application filed April 22, 1886. Serial No. 199.844.

(Xo model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Mor'r GEORG-E GILLETTE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement'in Spring-Knobs for Drawers, Bureaus, Cabinets, Bank-Safes, die. and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying draw'- ings, forming part of this specitication.

The object of my inventioiris to provide means whereby such knobs, when not in use, may be made automatically to retire into a recess formed for their reception, or to at least retract from their position of projection to such an extent as to abut closely against the outer surface of the drawer in such manner as to be entirely out of the way, whereby the catching and tearing of clothing upon them or the disagreeable engagement of the person with them in passing by their front-s is avoided and economy of space secured, which is quite important, more particularly in the construction of bank-safes.

The invention consists of a springknob, the action of the spring of which is to.press the knob inward toward the front part of the drawer into a recess provided for its reception, or down iush upon the said surface, and a tumbling-lever, arranged to abut against the stem of the knob in such manner as to press it outward when needed, the action of pressing it outward being eiected by the slight pressure of the knuckle of the forenger upon a small button preferably placed below the knob, said button being so arranged that it presses on the short end of the tnmblinglever to force out the knob, the knob when thus forced out being brought into precisely the necessary posit-ion for easy and certain engage` ment between the thumb and foreiinger of the hand which presses upon the small button, all of which will appear more fully by reference to the drawings, in which- Figure l represents the front of a drawer having my improvement attached thereto. Fig. 2 represents a partial vertical section through said drawer on the line fr in Fig. l, the knob being shown in its normal position occupied when not in use. Fig. 3 shows the invention with the knob thrust out by the A, Figs. l, 2, and 3, represents a rectangular recess or small sunken panel formed in the front surface of a sliding drawer. Oroncentrically with the recess or sunken panel A there is cut through the front part of the drawer a mortise conforming in shape to the body B of a metallic case or box, which has a rectangular form, as indicated at b in Fig. 4. C is the outer front face of this metallic case, which may be formed as an ornamental escutcheon.

The rectangular body B is preferably cast iny tegrally with the front part, C, of the case, the front part projecting beyond the box B, as shown at c in Figs. l, 2, 3, 4, and 5, to form a flange.

. In the corners of the rectangular box B are formed small bosses d, for the reception of screws e, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3,4, and 5. The screws e pass-through holes made in the detachable back plate, D, of the case, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The back plate, D, of the case is made larger than the box B, in order to leave a projecting ange, c, extending entirely around the box, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The screws c" not only serve for the attachment of the back plateto the body of the case, but they also serve, in connection with the back plate, to form a permanent fastening for the device to the front board of the drawer when the same is applied thereto, as 'shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The back plate having iirst been detached from the box, the latter is passed through the hereinbcfore described mortise made in said board, and the back plate is then applied to the box B, and the insertion of the screws e clamps the flanges c and c firmly against the front and back margins of the mortise, and thus securely fastens the born to the drawer.

E represents the knob employedl for pulling out the drawer. This knob is formed with, a

IOO

stem, F, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 5. To the inner end of this stem is attached, by riveting or in any other suitable manner, a plate, f, Figs. 2 and 3, between which and the front part, C, of the box is placed a coiled compression-spring, g, Figs. 2 and 3, the action of which is,when not resisted, to press the knob down flush against the front part, C, of the box, thus bringing the knob entirely into the 'sunken panel or recess A, hereinbefore described; or, if the sunken panel or recess be not used and the box is inserted into the front part of the drawer in such manner as to leave the front portion of O iiush with the front surface of the drawer, the spring will bring the inner side of the knob E down flush against the front of the box, G,-leaving the knob projecting only to the extent of its own thickness, the stem F being then entirely drawn into the box. But I wish to state that I do not limit myself to this form of spring and its relation to the stem F of the knob E. Any arrangement of the spring which will effect the same i purpose, or use of a tumbler with a gravitating weight which will engagein some manner the stem F to withdraw the stem into the box, I consider will be the equivalent of the coiled spring g, herein described. I prefer, however, to use the arrangement of coiled spring which I have described as the best method of effecting the purpose desired.

At H, Figs. 2, 8, 4, and 5, is shown a tumbling-lever, which has its fulerumat h. The fulcrum h is in the example of my invention herewith shown in the drawings simply a pivot supported by the sides of the `nox B; but I do not limit myself to this form of fulcrum. The

lever H, instead of being pivoted to the box, as shown, may have formed on its inner side a notch which shall engage a knife-edge for a bearing; or the lever H may be provided with a fulcrum in any other suitable manner. The longer arm of the lever presses against the in. ner end of the stem F of the knob E, as shown at i in Figs. 2 and 3. When the knob is pressed inward bythe spring g, the lever I-I assumes the position shown in Fig. 2. Ihe army' of lever H presses against the inner end of the stem 7c of the button K, which button is provided with a guide-bolt, Z, attached to the inner end of its stem. It will be now evident that when the spring g presses the knob E down against the front part of the box, as shown in Fig. 2, it will press backward the end z' of the lever H and press forward the short arm j of said lever, and the button will be pressed outward by the short arm j of said lever H. This latter is the normal position of the parts when not in use.

When it is necessary to open the drawer, the operator places the hand in the position shown in Fig. 3, the knuckle of the foreiinger abutting against the button K. A very slight pressure applied to the button K by the knuckle of the forefmger serves to overcome the resilience of the light spring g and thrust the knob out into position for pulling out the drawer. When the knob has been thus forced out into position, the' thumb and forefmger grasp it, as shownin Fig. 3, and the drawer is then pulled out in an easy manner. As soon as the tension of the hand upon the knob E is released the springg pushes the stemfback into the box, and the parts assume their former positions, as shown in Fig. 2.

I do not confine myself to any particular form of tumbling-lever H. Ihave shown it in a form in which it is economically made and effective in its action; but there are various ways in which. the lever may be made to subscrve the same purpose. Neither do I confine myself to the rectangular form of case B. In many eases it may be preferable to form this case, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, of circular form, having a screw-thread upon the ex terior of the body and a flange, c, extending entirely around the body, to abut against the front part of the wood of the drawer to' which the device is applied when the body B is screwed in. Vhen this latter form of case is used, the recess A in the front of the drawer may be made circular, and the back plate, D, may be formed without a iiange and screwed into the body B at the rear.

In order that the knob F and the button K may be made to move easily and truly out and in through their proper openings in the front plate, C, of the box B, I provide three small guides, m, both for the knob E and the button K. These guides are preferably east as projeetions or ribs on the interior of the box B, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

When the rectangular form of box is employed and the plate f attached to it, the inner end of the stemFof the knob Eis notched in such manner that it will slide upon the ribs m; also, the pull l, which is attached to the inner end of the stem of the button K, is similarly notched, to engage with the guide projections or ribs m. But with the cylindrical form of box I prefer to cast socketss and s with the body of the box B, and formed integrally with the same and the iiange c, in which the guide-ribs m and m areformed in an analogous manner, to guide the knob E and button K, and make their motions rectilinear and parallel with each other; but I do not conine myself to this precise method of guiding the knob F and button K. Any other method which will subserve the same purpose will be the equivalent of the guides m and mas, forv instance, a hole may be drilled centrally through the knob E or button K, and a guidepin inserted into said stem and supported by the back plate of the box; or various other ways of guiding said knob and button to make their motion rectilinear and parallel with each other may be adopted without in any way changing the principle or spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my improvement, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In a device for reciprocating or sliding IOO IIO

ont and in the knob of a drawer, door, or analogous article, the combination of a knob having a sliding stem actuated by a spring or its equivalent to press suchl knob inward, a sliding button arranged in relation with said knob, and a tumbling-lever arranged in relation both with said knob and button, in such manner that when the button is pressed in the knob is pressed out, substantially as herein described, and for the purpose specified.

2. In a device for reciprocating or sliding out and in a knob of a drawer, door, or other analogous article, the combination of a sliding or reciprocating knob, E, a sliding button, K, arranged in relation with said knob as herein described, and a tumbling-lever,H,arranged in relation with said knob and button as herein described,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

:o i 3. The combination, with a sliding knob of a drawer, door, or analogous article, of a sliding or reciprocating knob, a sliding or reciprocating button arranged in relation with said knob as described, a spring,g, a lever, H, arranged in relation with said knob and button as described, and guides m and m', substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination, with thesliding knob E, sliding button K, lever H, and spring g, of an inclosing-ease consisting of a front plate, C, a body, B, and a rear plate, D, attached to the body B by screws e, said front plate, C, and back plate, D, being made larger than the body B, to leave flanges c and c thereon, as and for the purpose herein specified.

MOTT GEO. GILLETTE.

Witnesses:

Lnienscrnn ALLEN, JN0. E. GAvIN. 

